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Frank Schaefer: Decision to overturn defrocking is a sign that United Methodist Church is heading in right direction on gay marriage

Frank Schaefer

Frank Schaefer on Tuesday said the decision by a judicial panel from the United Methodist Church to overturn his defrocking is a sign that the church is heading in the right direction on the gay marraige debate. (AP Photo/Chris Knight)

"Today's decision is a sign that the church is starting to listen!" - Frank Schaefer

News that his United Methodist Church has overturned the decision to defrock him for having performed a gay wedding signals the church is heading in the right direction in the gay marriage debate, Frank Schaefer said Tuesday.

"I can't even begin to describe how meaningful this "refrocking" is to me," he said. "I never did understand the severity of my punishment for an act of love for my son Tim. The committee of appeals understood that my defrocking sought to penalize me not for what I did but for what I might do in the future.

"But more importantly, today's decision by the committee is a hopeful sign for our LGBTQ community. They recognized that I was wrongfully punished for standing with those who are discriminated against. How hopeful is this decision for the transgender sister who shared with me that she was no longer allowed to worship at her church. How hopeful is this decision for the brother who was made to feel "the worst of sinners" based on his sexual orientation. Today's decision is a sign that the church is starting to listen!"

Schaefer on Tuesday learned that the church will restore his ministerial credentials after a church judicial panel overturned an earlier church decision to strip him of his duties after he was found guilty of violating church law in 2007 when he officiated over the gay wedding of his son, Tim.

The nine member panel ruled that the penalty doled out to Schaefer, a 30-day suspension, could not be compounded. In addition, the penalty could not be predicated on the possibility that he would officiate over other gay marriages.

Schaefer, formerly head of Lebanon Zion United Methodist Church of Iona in Lebanon, has become an outspoken and high-profile advocate for the LGBT community.

"Today's decision shows that the church is moving toward love over legalism," Schaefer said. "It is the path that so many in the church have been modeling already. Indeed, people throughout the United Methodist Church, who invited me into their pulpits, sat with me at their dinner tables and supported my family with their donations, have refrocked me already. Their movement of love embraced me and together we are moving forward to bring about that day when our denomination no longer excludes any of God's beloved children. And I will continue to work toward that goal."

Over the past four decades, the United Methodist Church leadership has come under pressure from within its ranks to lift its ban on same-sex marriage. Church leadership has without fail struck down attempts to change church stance on gay marriage, even as a tide of gay rights advocates within the church have tested the limits of church regulations.

The 7.5 million-member U.S. denomination prohibits gay and lesbian couples from marrying in the church, but in April, the church extended same-sex benefits to staff at its 13 general agencies, if allowed by state law.

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